Best Upgrade Path?

[Suspensa]

Currently my system is running a Radeon R7 360 2GB with an Athlon X4 870K and after using this setup for about a year and half after starting at a budget its time for an upgrade.

My current dilema is which component to upgrade first, both components are pretty aged and both serve each other well but I can't afford to upgrade both at the same time. Recently Newegg has been sending some pretty good GPU sales through their newsletters and they're getting pretty tempting.

First option is a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 Ti for approx $200 USD. I like the price and as well as having a much more recognizable GPU but am a little concerned with price per performance (as well as being team red for life but not deal breaker).

Second is MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti for approx $170 USD. The only reason this one is considered is for also being a 1050 ti while being a little cheaper but I'm not personally a fan of the single fan and smaller size mostly due to aesthetics. 

Third mystery option is a CPU upgrade. I haven't locked down a specific one yet but I am certain of something along the lines of a Ryzen 5. The issue with this is that this would take longer and be more expensive due to needing a new mobo and ram to go with it.

My primary use is gaming with any kind of productivity taking a backseat. I haven't been able to find which one is causing me to hit limits in games as some the CPU maxes out and in other the GPU maxes out and some benchmarks just max both.

Any suggestions or advice or other GPUs at a similar price point is much appreciated. 

[IdiotPenguin]

What games do you play?

[Lord Nicoll]

2 minutes ago, Suspensa said:

Currently my system is running a Radeon R7 360 2GB with an Athlon X4 870K and after using this setup for about a year and half after starting at a budget its time for an upgrade.

My current dilema is which component to upgrade first, both components are pretty aged and both serve each other well but I can't afford to upgrade both at the same time. Recently Newegg has been sending some pretty good GPU sales through their newsletters and they're getting pretty tempting.

First option is a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 Ti for approx $200 USD. I like the price and as well as having a much more recognizable GPU but am a little concerned with price per performance (as well as being team red for life but not deal breaker).

Second is MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti for approx $170 USD. The only reason this one is considered is for also being a 1050 ti while being a little cheaper but I'm not personally a fan of the single fan and smaller size mostly due to aesthetics. 

Third mystery option is a CPU upgrade. I haven't locked down a specific one yet but I am certain of something along the lines of a Ryzen 5. The issue with this is that this would take longer and be more expensive due to needing a new mobo and ram to go with it.

My primary use is gaming with any kind of productivity taking a backseat. I haven't been able to find which one is causing me to hit limits in games as some the CPU maxes out and in other the GPU maxes out and some benchmarks just max both.

Any suggestions or advice or other GPUs at a similar price point is much appreciated. 

Try to save up and upgrade the whole PC probably at once. Whats the PSU and case? Higher end parts might need better cooling and a better PSU so bear that in mind. There are a few dual fan GTX 1050tis, not sure if they overclock any better though, but GPU boost 3.0 makes manual overclocking not so much of a gain now. 

[Suspensa]

1 minute ago, IdiotPenguin said:

What games do you play?

Primarily Overwatch and Destiny 2 are the main concerns 

[Suspensa]

4 minutes ago, Lord Nicoll said:

Try to save up and upgrade the whole PC probably at once. Whats the PSU and case? Higher end parts might need better cooling and a better PSU so bear that in mind. There are a few dual fan GTX 1050tis, not sure if they overclock any better though, but GPU boost 3.0 makes manual overclocking not so much of a gain now. 

PSU is a 500W EVGA  and case is DIY-F2-W. From what its looking like either card shouldnt need a PSU upgrade and I do plan on getting a nicer case but it isn't an immediate concern. Trying to find a case for my picky self is gonna take some soul searching lol.

[IdiotPenguin]

7 minutes ago, Suspensa said:

PSU is a 500W EVGA  and case is DIY-F2-W. From what its looking like either card shouldnt need a PSU upgrade and I do plan on getting a nicer case but it isn't an immediate concern. Trying to find a case for my picky self is gonna take some soul searching lol.

 

9 minutes ago, Suspensa said:

Primarily Overwatch and Destiny 2 are the main concerns 

Okay so a few questions:

1. Do you care about cool graphics and all that or do you just wanna play on whatever settings it takes to stay at your monitor refresh rate

2. What IS your monitor specs? (Res, refresh rate, ect)

3. What fps do you currently get in games you play most at what settings? (You don't need to be super exact on the settings just the general idea)

[Suspensa]

1 minute ago, IdiotPenguin said:

 

Okay so a few questions:

1. Do you care about cool graphics and all that or do you just wanna play on whatever settings it takes to stay at your monitor refresh rate

2. What IS your monitor specs? (Res, refresh rate, ect)

3. What fps do you currently get in games you play most?

1.I don't need anything crazy like 4K, 1080 is fine for me, but I would like to maintain 60fps at high or higher settings. Currently most games set themselves to medium or but some can handle high but normally don't keep a stable frame rate and are prone to dipping to 30 (overwatch) or cant seem to get to 60 and stay there (destiny 2)

2. 1080 and 60Hz refresh. Exact model is Hp 23es. Im not too particular about my monitor. When I bought this one it checked all the boxes I needed (price, 1080p and 60hz)

3. I can get playable frame rates in most games the issue is maintaining that that level at graphics levels I would like to play at. Sometimes Overwatch can stay at 60 but does dip below sometimes and Destiny is normally at 40ish fps 

[IdiotPenguin]

1 minute ago, Suspensa said:

1.I don't need anything crazy like 4K, 1080 is fine for me, but I would like to maintain 60fps at high or higher settings. Currently most games set themselves to medium or but some can handle high but normally don't keep a stable frame rate and are prone to dipping to 30 (overwatch) or cant seem to get to 60 and stay there (destiny 2)

2. 1080 and 60Hz refresh. Exact model is Hp 23es. Im not too particular about my monitor. When I bought this one it checked all the boxes I needed (price, 1080p and 60hz)

3. I can get playable frame rates in most games the issue is maintaining that that level at graphics levels I would like to play at. Sometimes Overwatch can stay at 60 but does dip below sometimes and Destiny is normally at 40ish fps 

Honestly, I'm leaning towards the 1050 Ti for you but I'm not sure how hard your CPU would bottleneck. I think the safest bet is to go with the 1050 Ti and upgrade the cpu down the line if you're still not happy 

[Suspensa]

1 minute ago, IdiotPenguin said:

Honestly, I'm leaning towards the 1050 Ti for you but I'm not sure how hard your CPU would bottleneck. I think the safest bet is to go with the 1050 Ti and upgrade the cpu down the line if you're still not happy 

I had a feeling about getting the GPU first since what I wanted was better graphics. The bottleneck does concern me but its not like I won't ever upgrade the CPU. Did you have a particular 1050 ti in mind or either should be fine?

[IdiotPenguin]

2 minutes ago, Suspensa said:

I had a feeling about getting the GPU first since what I wanted was better graphics. The bottleneck does concern me but its not like I won't ever upgrade the CPU. Did you have a particular 1050 ti in mind or either should be fine?

Honestly it shouldn't run too hot unless your case is like fanless so you don't need to worry about the cooler for the most part (i think) and any 1050 Ti should work as long as it fits your standards lol

[Suspensa]

Bit the bullet and bought the MSI ver. Since it was like $40 cheaper for pretty much the same performance the looks can be second. With what I saved I got a hyper 212 that'll carry over to when I upgrade the CPU.